CVE-2024-41121 in woodpecker
Summary
by MITRE • 07/19/2024
Woodpecker is a simple yet powerful CI/CD engine with great extensibility. The server allow to create any user who can trigger a pipeline run malicious workflows: 1. Those workflows can either lead to a host takeover that runs the agent executing the workflow. 2. Or allow to extract the secrets who would be normally provided to the plugins who's entrypoint are overwritten. This issue has been addressed in release version 2.7.0. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/04/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-41121 affects Woodpecker CI/CD engine, a container-based continuous integration and deployment platform designed for extensibility and automation. This security flaw represents a critical authorization bypass issue that fundamentally undermines the integrity of the system's user management and pipeline execution mechanisms. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the server component that permits unauthorized users to create accounts with elevated privileges, effectively compromising the entire CI/CD pipeline infrastructure.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the server's user creation logic and permission model which fails to properly validate user credentials or enforce proper access controls during the registration process. When malicious actors successfully create accounts, they can leverage these newly established identities to trigger pipeline executions that execute arbitrary workflows. This flaw maps directly to CWE-285 - Improper Authorization, as the system fails to properly enforce authorization checks for user account creation and pipeline execution privileges. The vulnerability creates a direct pathway for attackers to escalate their privileges and gain control over the underlying host system.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-41121 extends beyond simple unauthorized access, presenting two distinct attack vectors that can result in complete system compromise. The first vector involves host takeover capabilities where malicious workflows can execute with the privileges of the agent process, potentially allowing attackers to gain full control over the host machine running the CI/CD infrastructure. The second and equally dangerous vector involves secret extraction, where attackers can access sensitive information that would normally be provided to plugins through overwritten entrypoints. This secret extraction capability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to credential theft, access to production systems, and compromise of entire application environments. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1078 - Valid Accounts and T1552 - Unsecured Credentials, as it enables both unauthorized account access and credential extraction.
Organizations utilizing Woodpecker CI/CD systems face significant operational risks from this vulnerability, particularly those that rely on automated deployment pipelines with elevated system privileges. The attack surface includes any system where Woodpecker is deployed with default configurations or where user registration is not properly restricted. The vulnerability affects the core pipeline execution engine and can lead to unauthorized code execution, data exfiltration, and disruption of continuous integration processes. Security teams must consider the potential for lateral movement within their infrastructure if attackers use the compromised CI/CD system as a foothold to access other systems. The impact is particularly severe in environments where CI/CD pipelines have access to production systems, database credentials, or cloud service accounts. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical expertise, making it particularly dangerous for organizations without proper network segmentation or monitoring in place.
The remediation strategy for CVE-2024-41121 requires immediate upgrade to version 2.7.0 or later, which includes patches addressing the authorization bypass and user creation validation issues. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring of user creation events and pipeline execution activities to detect potential exploitation attempts. Network segmentation should be enforced to limit access to the CI/CD infrastructure, and privileged access should be restricted to only necessary personnel. Security teams should conduct thorough audits of existing pipeline configurations and secret management practices to identify potential exposure. The vulnerability's resolution addresses both the account creation bypass and the workflow execution privilege escalation, making it essential for all affected systems to be updated promptly. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as automated secret rotation, pipeline execution logging, and regular vulnerability scanning of their CI/CD environments to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.